Although it's only 155 years old, this cemetery is well worth a leisurely
drive-through. Artists take their easels to this beautiful resting place. Young
lovers lie on the grass beside one of its 14 lakes, watching the swans glide
by, and discuss the meaning of life. Spring Grove is a cemetery/park and it's
a world-class arboretum/botanical garden and nature preserve, with at least
one of every tree native to the area. In addition, there are tens of thousands
of spectacular monuments, statues, obelisks and mausoleums. (Look for
the bust of C.C. Bruer who is said to have glass eyes that see right through
you!) Thirty-seven Civil War generals are buried here, plus the parents of
Ulysses S. Grant. There's a section where Gypsies are buried, noted by red
granite monuments. Johnny Black, who wrote the Mills Brothers' hit, "Paper
Doll," is here, as well as Alexander McGuffey, who co-wrote the McGuffey
Reader. —Barbara Stanley
Spring Grove Cemetery:
Sanctuary for living, dead
It's more than just a cemetery. Much more.
In fact, a one-time Spring Grove Cemetery general
manager called cemetery a harsh word. We like to
think we are a park with a fine collection of plant
material.
'
Spring Grove is today an wonderful mix of horticulture
and history, monuments and mausoleums, birds and
beauty.
Founded in 1845, the original area of 166 slightly hilly
acres was purchased for $16,000. It was named
Spring Grove because of the numerous springs and
ancient groves of trees on the property.
Early leaders like Adolph Strauch, Dr. Daniel Drake,
Robert Buchanan, Timothy Walker, Salmon P. Chase
and Henry Probasco set the course that has made
Spring Grove the nation's largest non-profit cemetery
with more than 700 acres.
Much has changed in over 150 years. In 1845, a rule
stated: ''Horses must not be left without the driver.
For almost 100 years, owners could enter only with
tickets for themselves and their guests, who were
excluded on Sundays.
Automobiles were admitted in 1911; the great flood
inundated Spring Grove in 1937; it was designated a
National Historic Landmark in 1976; and in 1993 a
patent for a new dogwood tree was issued to Spring
Grove.
Now called Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum, it
today is a ''place of repose for people from all walks of
life.''
Who's buried
25 Cincinnati mayors, including George ''Boss'' Cox and
''Mr. Cincinnati'' Charles Taft
Painter Henry Farny
Businessmen Charles Fleischman, James Gamble,
Bernard Kroger, William Procter, John Shillito, George
McAlpin and Christian Moerlein
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nicholas
Longworth
Judge Jacob Burnet, author of the first Ohio state
constitution
34 Union generals from the Civil War, including Joseph
Hooker and the ''Fighting McCooks'' - Robert, Alexander,
Edwin and Daniel. Daniel McCook, the patriarch,
contributed eight sons to the Union Army, four of whom
rose to the rank of general.
Jesse and Hannah Grant, parents of Civil War general
and later president Ulysses S. Grant.
10 governors from the states of Ohio, Kentucky and
Arizona
Three Supreme Court justices, including Salmon P.
Chase
Three postmasters general
Things to see
FLOWERS: Daffodils, weeping cheery trees in blossom,
rhododendron, roses, lilies and chrysanthemums give color.
Fall offers rich foliage and evergreens give contrast to the
bare trunks of hardwoods in winter.
BUILDINGS: Entrance - features carved stone gargoyles
on the outside and a vaulted beamed ceiling in the visitors'
reception room; Carriage House - originally designed as a
rest area for ladies awaiting their carriages; Norman Chapel
- has large stained-glass window imported from Europe;
Dexter Mausoleum - resembles an elaborate gothic chapel
with balustrade and flying buttresses.
MAUSOLEUMS: There are 40 family-owned
mausoleums in Spring Grove, including the Burnet
Mausoleum, which was built in 1865 of Italian marble in the
Corinthian style.
MONUMENTS: There are draped urns, broken columns
depicting death in the prime of life, an Egyptian-style
pyramid and sphinx, balls, petrified logs, musical lyres,
lambs, cherubs and obelisks reaching upward like the
Washington Monument.
EPITAPHS: Examples range from ''Cheer, loving devotion
and affection'' from a wife to the young man who ''burned
my candle at both ends.''
TREES: There are more than 300 varieties of trees,
including several ''Ohio Big Trees,'' the largest of each
species growing in the state. Among them are the Cedar of
Lebanon, the Nordmann Fir, the Red Dogwood and the
Purple European Beech.
BIRDS: Canada geese and more than 200 other species
have been identified by birdwatchers.
SOURCES: ''Spring Grove, Celebrating 150 Years''; A
Visitor's Guide to the Beauty and History of Spring
Grove; Post archives
http://www.cincypost.com/living/spring052599.html
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